Associations between alcohol, smoking, and cartilage composition and knee joint morphology: Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative

OBJECTIVE: To determine the cross-sectional associations of alcohol consumption and smoking history with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of cartilage composition (T2) and joint structure using data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI). DESIGN: Subjects with radiographic Kellgren Lawrence right knee grades 0–2 were selected from the OAI database, and those with previously analyzed MRI cartilage T2 and semi-quantitative joint morphology gradings (WORMS) were included (n ​= ​2061). Alcohol consumption was categorized as: no drinks to <1 drink/week, 1–7 drinks/week, >7 drinks/week. Smoking history was categorized as none, current, or former. Linear regression was used to assess the relationships of alcohol consumption and smoking history with both WORMS scores and cartilage T2. RESULTS: Subjects who consumed >7 drinks/week had significantly higher cartilage T2 than subjects who consumed <1 drink/week in the average of all cartilage regions and in three of five individual regions (coefficient range: 0.45–0.90, p ​< ​0.05). Subjects with moderate alcohol consumption (1–7 drinks per week) had higher cartilage and meniscus WORMS scores than subjects who consumed <1 drink/week (p ​< ​0.05). Current smokers had significantly higher cartilage T2 compared to non-smokers in the average of all cartilage regions and in three of five individual regions (coefficient range: 0.47–0.74, p ​< ​0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol consumption (1–7 drinks/week) was associated with worse cartilage and meniscus joint morphology, and >7 drinks/week was associated with elevated cartilage T2. Compared to non-smokers, current smokers had a more degenerated cartilage matrix as evidenced by greater cartilage T2.